Review WolfCop (2014)

genre: horror, comedy, action

I really miss those days where they made posters like this!

WolfCop is a throwback to low budget Eighties horror flicks which is something I can appreciate because I love everything Eighties. And I was really psyched to see this one especially after watching the trailer. It promised to be a lot of fun. But sadly I have to report that WolfCop does not make good on this promise. There are a few scenes that were entertaining enough but overall it does not do enough with it's premise. For starters the film starts quite seriously and did a good job of introducing us to the main character. He is a dead beat cop not taking his job seriously for whatever reason. He is so incompetent that it makes you wonder why has not been fired yet. Although that gets explained in the ending. Still when he becomes the wolf he is supposed to be better and improved. Only this is not as convincing as it could have been. The main character only barely looks into of what has happened to him. Only very briefly we are shown that he is somewhat dismayed. He embraces his wolf side rather quickly. And that does offer some violent and gory scenes. But not nearly enough. Don't get me wrong I am not that hungry for blood or gore. However once you discard buildup of tension and atmosphere for gore you should then revel in it and go over the top. And WolfCop often feels like it is holding back. I suspect this might have been because of the low budget. WolfCop is also very low on laughs. Most of the jokes are incredibly juvenile, gross and pointless. The transformation scenes look cool and as far as I can tell no CGI was used. Overall I found the viewing experience to be quite underwhelming. The way the story started and how it was set up it could have been a lot of fun. But it shows that writer / director Lowel Dean hasn't grasped what makes those Eighties horror flicks appeal so much. When it comes to movies like this you have to embrace the cheese but at the same time the characters have to believe that what is happening to them is very serious. That is what provides the comedy. (Example: The Frog Brothers in the Lost Boys.) Plus would it have hurt for them to added cheesy remarks like, bad hair day dude? Are you going to huff and puff and blow my house down? I mean those little jokes would have made it so much better. Especially since the story itself takes some turns that make it ridiculous in a very bad way. At the end they announced that a sequel is coming and to be honest I think that is a little too optimistic. Because I am not sure if this deserves one.